Device for preparing material for stitching into pleats



Aug. 9, -1960 l65A. M, WYNDHAM f yDIVICE FORv PREPARING vMTIEIRIVL'FUR' STITCHING INTO PLEATS Filed om.l 22, 1957 'a Fla! 2 Sh-e'ets-Sheet 1 f.

Au8 9, 1960 u G. A. M. WYNDHAM 2,948,241

DEVICE FOR PREPARING MATERIALFOR sTITcHING vINT0 PLEATS Filed oct. 22, 1957 2 sheetfshezf2v immuun rvl llll I Flc. 6-

United States Patent 2,948,241 DEVICE FOR PREPARING MATERIAL FRY t STITCHING INTO PLEATS Gisela Antonia Maria Wyndham, 1 8'5 Goldhurst Terrace,

I London, England Filed Oct. 22, 1957, Ser. No. 691,745 Claims priority, application Great Britain Oct. 24, 1956 2 Claims. (Cl. 11Z-"146) The invention relates to means for pleating sheet material ready for stitching. 1

The invention has among its objects to provide means for guiding material into a form or position in which it may be sewn or stitched.

More particularly the invention relates to a device adapted for use with a sewing or stitching machine for facilitating the manufacture of articles made of cloth or other yfabric or material, such as garments, or curtains, the length of which may require to be extended from time to time.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide means `for producing a piece of material-hereinafter referred to as a multipleat strip-independent of the article to be lengthened, but which can be attached to it, and having the following features. The multipleat strip consists of a strip of material folded upon itself a number of times so as to create a plurality of superposed fold, folded over portions, or pleats stepped or staggered slightly in relation to each other, each folded over portion being secured to all of the folded over portions which lie beneath it by a separate length of easily removable stitching.

'Ihe multipleat strip may be manufactured and sold entirely separately from the article with which it is to be used and can be applied to any article having a hem, and may be attached to the article by sewing or otherwise fastening or xing one edge of the element to the main part of the article and the other edge to the hem of the article.

The article can then be lengthened at will by an amount equal to the depth of either only one fold, or equal to the combined depths of two folds, or by the combined depths of three folds, merely by pulling out respectively one, two or three lengths of thread, and so on, as the case may be dependant upon the amount of lengthening required.

According to the invention means for pleating material ready for stitching are provided comprising a shaped pleat forming device into one end of which the material or a part or edge of a length of material is fed, and in which it is formed into pleats or the like to issue at the other end in the desired form and/or position adapted for immediate stitching.

Means according to the invention are provided comprising a device for preparing material for stitching into pleats consisting of a substantially triangular plate adapted for attachment to a stitching machine and having longitudinally extending corrugations progressively increasing in height from the base or front end to the apex or rear end of the plate and -tapering inwardly or converging from the base towards the apex, one or more transverse guide members positioned along the length of the plate above the corrugations and of a section corresponding to that of the corrugations at the positions of mounting on the plate, retaining members disposed within the grooves of the corrugations, and means presenting adjacent horizontally disposed slits, into which ice slits the folded material from the corrugations is guided for pleating.

According to the invention furthermore, the means for pleating may consist of an elongated substantially triangularly shaped plate tapering from a base, at which position the material is fed in to the apex, at position the material enters an end pleating member, lengthwise corrugations converging from the base towards the apex being provided onvthe surface of the plate to eiect a foldingv or pleating of the material as it is drawn along the plate member, the material being maintained in contact with the surface of the plate by transverse guides, advantageously secured to flanges formed on the sides Vof theplate, and by resilient fabric retaining members advantageously secured only at one end and confining or pressing the material in the grooves formed by the corrugations, the material passing through a slotted end member from which it issues as a series of llat superposed consecutive pleats or folded over portions stepped relative to each other to pass directly to a stitching position. v.

In carrying the invention into effect according to. one construction, described by way of example, in Awhich the device is adapted to fold `and pleat a strip of mate` rial for use as an element referred to above, the device is clamped to a sewing or stitching machine so that the plate member is substantially vertical and the end membercomprises a number of over-lapping communicating horizontal slits from which the material issues in a horizontal position ready for stitching.

The plate member comprises an elongated substantially triangular plate flanged in opposite directions along the sides, guide means for guiding and holding the material in contact with the plate member being secured to the flanges.

Lengthwise corrugations `are formed on the upper surfaces of the plate, -to effect a folding of the material prior to inal pleating in the end member.

The material to be pleated is fed to the open end of the plate member and is maintained in contact with the upper surface of the plate by means of guide and holding members secured to the flanges of the plate, resilient members confining the material in the grooves formed by the corrugations of the plate `and thereby effecting a folding of the material.

The action of the resilient members in the grooves formed by the corrugations and of the retaining guides above the corrugations of the plate keeps the material free of rucks and wrinkles as it passes along the plate.

On reaching the end of the plate the strip is fed into an end member formed with a plurality of overlapping horizontally disposed communicating slits through which the strip is passed and in which it is pleated.

The' pleated strip from the end pleating member is received on a metal foot below the needles of the machine which eifect the stitching of the pleats.

The material is advantageously drawn along the plate member under the action of a puller consisting essentially of a pair of superimposed rollers which may be driven through gearing from the drive of the stitching machine.

One construction of a device according to the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which;

Figure l is a side view of 4the device in the direction of the arrow X of iFigure 3.

Figure 2 is a sec-tion on the line A--A of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a -top elevation of the device in position for vattachment to the sewing machine.

Figure 4 is an end elevation in the direction of the arrow Y of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a part section on line C-C of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail of a retaining member.

Figure 7 is -a schematic elevation of the disposition of the de vice in position on a stitching machine and of a foot and the puller used in conjunction with the device.

EFigi-1re 8 is :an end View of .fa-multipleat strip oo'nstructed in `accordance with the present invention.

The :plate member 1 comprises an :elongated substantially triangular plate provided with flanges 2 and 3 in opposite directions along the sides. primary fabric rretaining members 4 -for guiding the ma- -te'rial in contact with the Vplate -1 are secured to the Han-ges 2 and 3.

Lengthwise corrugations 5 are xformed Ionthe surface Guide mea-.us -or fi of the plate 1 to -eilect a -folding of the lmaterial prior to `linal pleating in the end member 6.

The material 20 to be fplea'ted is -fed to the open "end 7 of the plate 1 and :is maintained in contact with the surface -of the plate 4by means of resilient secondary fabric retaining members confining the material in the grooves formed by the corrugations 5 of the plate 1 and thereby effecting the folding of the material.

The end member 6 is formed with a plurality of overlapping horizontally disposed slits 9 through which the strip is passed after it leaves the corrugations 5 on plate 1 and in which it is pleated due to the overlapping arrangement of the slits 9. The pleated strip from the end lpleating member 6 is engaged below a metal foot 10 below the needles of the machine which eiects the stitching 221 of the pleats.

Movement of the material along the plate 1, and under the foot 10 is eiected by a puller 11, the respective units being disposed as shown in Figure 7, the device being secured to the stitching machine by vmember 12.

I claim:

1. `A pleat forming device for sewing machines and adapted to fold a at strip of material into a series of stepped pleats which comprises a plate provided with a front end and with a rear end, a plurality of longitudinally extending converging arcuate corrugations becoming deeper and narrower and stepped and directed from said front end .toward `said rear end, .material retaining .members carried by Asaid plate for pressing the material so that the latter follows closely the contour of said plate, and an end .member Vsecured to said rear end, said end member having a plurality of overlapping and consecutively communicatingslots arranged in stepped relation to each other and registering with said corrugations at said rear end, whereby the strip of material entering said front end in flat condition emerges from the slots in the rear end in a stepped `pleated arrangement.

2. A pleat forming device constructed in accordance with claim 1, wherein said material retaining members comprise a plurality of resilient elements abutting the bottom ofsaid corrugations to closely press the material onsai'dplate,

References `riterl in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS y1,128,618 Morgan Feb. 16, 1915 1,152,635 Horton Sept. 7, 1915 1,164,790 De Voe Dec. 21, 1915 1,263,869 De Voe Apr. 23, 1918 2,318,497 Kassel May 4, -1943 2,734,670 Gellman et al. Feb. 14, 1956 2,769,584 Zinamon et al. Nov. 6, 1956 

